William Howe

William Howe (10 August 1729-12 July 1814) was commander-in-chief, North America for Great Britain from 1775 to 1778, succeeding Thomas Gage and preceding Henry Clinton. Howe, the brother of Admiral Richard Howe and General George Howe, was a General in the British Army and a Member of Parliament for Nottingham before he was sent to command 32,000 British and Hessian troops in the American Revolutionary War in 1776. Knighted for his successful campaign to take over New York City, Howe's reputation was tainted when defeats at the Battle of Princeton in January 1777 and the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777 caused the British to lose their advantage in the war, and he was replaced by Henry Clinton. He became a viscount on the death of Richard in 1799, but he died without children in 1814.

Biography
William Howe was born on 10 August 1729, the son of a Viscount and the illegitimate half-sister of King George I of Great Britain. His mother's royal status helped in elevating the careers of William and his brothers George and Richard, and Howe fought in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. George was killed in the Battle of Fort Carillon in 1758, but William distinguished himself at the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, and the Battle of Havana in 1762. In 1764, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, and he served as a member of Parliament with the Whigs. As a Whig, Howe was initially sympathetic to the plight of the American colonists, but he was sent to Boston in 1775 to assist General Thomas Gage in crushing the rebellion.

Following the Siege of Boston, Howe assumed the role of Commander-in-Chief, North America from Thomas Gage and led 32,000 British and Hessian troops into New York Harbor on 12 July 1776. Throughout the battles for New York, Howe attempted to negotiate with George Washington and held a conference with him on Staten Island, but the Americans refused to plead guilty when they believed that they had done nothing wrong. Howe won the Battle of Long Island in August and had driven the Americans out by November, imposing British rule over New York, which became his headquarters.

In 1777, Howe led his army south towards the American capital of Philadelphia while the Americans focused on fighting against John Burgoyne's army in the Saratoga Campaign, and he secured major victories at the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of Germantown before taking Philadelphia. Despite these successes, the plan to cut the colonies in two at Saratoga failed with John Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga in October, and Howe resigned his command in early 1778 while Washington was at Valley Forge. Henry Clinton replaced Howe, who returned home and died childless in 1814.